Succubus Companions Ch 3 pt 4

“I barely know him!” Seraphine’s reply was just a little too fast, a little too loud, and a little too weak and she knew it.  “I barely know him,” Seraphine repeated a little softer.  “I’m grateful to him for getting you to save Melrazia, nothing more.”  She started to say something more then changed her mind.

The priest saw her hesitation.  “You were about to say something more.  What is it?”

Seraphine shrugged.  “It’s probably nothing.”

“If it is nothing then why are you so hesitant to share?” the priest pressed her.

Seraphine shrugged and tired to change the subject.  “I hope the merchant I traded with for this cloak receives a good price for the potions I gave her.”

“Do not worry, I gave her ten gold pieces apiece for them,” The priest assured her.  “Now tell me what you were going to say.”

Brushing her dark hair away from her eyes, the succubus met the priest gaze with one of her own.  “He scares me sometimes,” she admitted.  “He has a passion for darker spells and a desire for power that rivals—even exceeds—many of my own kind.  I worry that his desire for power has corrupted him.”

“If what you say is true, it is simply because you corrupted him,” Vician’s father’s voice dropped into a chill.  “My son is a good man.”

Seraphine stood up and looked down on the man coldly.  “Cast a truth spell if you do not believe me,” she hissed.  “I met your son because he screwed up a summoning spell attempting to capture a quasit.  He is by far more powerful a mage than I.  He is the one teaching me spells, not the other way around.  I told you before he was on a dangerous path!”

With that she drew her cloak around her and stormed off down the street.  Behind her, she heard the priest calling out after her but she hurried on.  By now it was starting to get dark and the street lanterns had not yet been lit.  Belatedly, Seraphine realized she had run the wrong direction on the street.  Still she figured if she could find a side street or alley she could cut back over where she needed to go. 

She found such an alley within a few minutes and turned down it.  The alley was full of twists and turns, and after one tight turn she came to an open doorway in the wall adorned with a small ring of seven stars and a rising red mist.  Something drew Seraphine to this doorway and before she could help herself she pushed the door the rest of the way open and stepped inside. 

Instantly, Seraphine could sense something different about this place.  Something deep in her core felt the remains of a neglected and tattered power that seemed to reverberate in the room.  For some reason, Seraphine got the mental image of a tattered web or cloth made of massive strands that had been torn and put back together.

The room itself was simple.  A few benches to either side all facing a far wall upon which a small stone altar lay.  On the altar lay a stripe of cloth with the same symbol that Seraphine had seen outside flanked on either side by two candles lit with a blue flame.

In the very corners of the room to either side of the altar sat two small tables.  A small wash basin, a bar of soap, a pitcher, and towel occupied one table.  On the opposite table sat a small collection plate that held a few coins.

Seraphine washed her hands in the basin and was mildly surprised that the pitcher did not seem to contain any less water after she filled the basin than it did before.  She emptied the basin into a small drain in the floor and walked over to the altar. 

Some impulse Seraphine couldn’t explain caused her to kneel before the altar and pray.  Before she realized it, she was spilling forth her fears and concerns, her desire to find a place to fit in, her confusion over her feelings for Vician, and her struggles to control her hunger.  By the time she was done tears were streaming down her cheeks from both eyes.

“The Lady, hears you,” a voice behind Seraphine made her jump and she turned around to face a woman seated on one of the benches.  To Seraphine the woman seemed both young and old at once, dressed in simple breeches and a blouse.  Seraphine somehow felt that this woman could utterly destroy her if she wanted and she swallowed.

“Have you been there the entire time?” She asked trying to keep her voice neutral.

“I was here when you walked in, yes,” the woman confirmed.

“Why couldn’t I sense you there then?” Seraphine asked.

The woman merely smiled.  “Because if you had, you would not have had the chance to plead your cause to The Lady,” she explained patiently.  “Nor would I have been able to give you her answer.”

“Her answer?” Seraphine felt confused.  “What answer?”

“My dear girl, you have a long painful journey ahead of you.  The Lady is not the one you are looking for, but she will give you what little help she can.”  The woman approached Seraphine and laid her fingers upon Seraphine.  “Receive The Lady’s gifts,” she said closing her eyes and throwing back her head.

Instantly Seraphine felt waves of magic and power flowing over her, through her.  Some of that magic flew into back corners of her mind locking itself away into small chunks.  Other pieces danced more in the front of her mind showing her relationships and insights into magic she had not seen before granting her an understanding of magic that was even more intrinsic than before. 

Finally, she felt some of the magic melting into her soothing her hunger.  It didn’t completely disappear but it was no longer threatening to consume her.  She felt as revitalized as if she had just fed but without the guilt of taking another person.

She let out a gasp as the woman stepped back and smiled.  “The spells in your mind will reveal themselves to you when the time comes for them. Do not worry you will know when it is time.”

“How, how will I know?” Seraphine stammered.

“Trust me, you’ll know,” the woman insisted, holding up her hand to forestall more questioning. “You’ll feel it when it is time.  I cannot tell you more than that so you will have to trust me and The Lady on this matter.”

Seraphine nodded though she still felt overwhelmed and confused.

“There are two more gifts that The Lady has to bestow,” the woman continued.  “The first is this:  The knowledge that your nature does not need to control you, to define you.  If you cease to fight it, and instead learn to control it, to master it, instead you can eventually find peace with yourself.  To kill is not always an evil act.  It is the intent and circumstances that can make it evil.  Sometimes, killing can even be an act of mercy.”

The woman gave Seraphine a moment to let that sink in before continuing.  “Lastly, The Lady bids that you should take the offering in the collection plate.”

“I beg your pardon?” Seraphine was shocked.  Residents of the plane she was from worshipped the most powerful demons such as the lord she served and to steal from them was a death sentence and often a very slow and painful death at that.  From the few human slaves that Seraphine had talked to, she had known stealing from the collection was almost as bad depending on which deity it was they stole from.

“Go on.  You will need it in the journey ahead,” the woman assured her.  “The Lady knows you will need it more than She does and bids you take it.  Just be sure not to spend it lightly. As with the spells, The Lady says you will know when to use it.”

Seraphine nodded and reluctantly turned to the offering plate and was surprised.  What she had at first taken for a few meager coins probably totaled somewhere between thirty and fifty gold pieces.  As she reached for them, she felt a light caress on her cheek and shoulder as if to reassure her this was alright.  She scooped the coins into a pouch and turned around to see the woman holding the door open for her.

“Go on, you have someone waiting on you,” the woman smiled.

Seraphine headed out into the street and was surprised to find that it was daylight.  In fact it was likely late morning or early afternoon from the amount of sunlight that managed to make its way into the alleyway.  She turned toward the door, surprised to find instead of the door she remembered coming through, a crumbling ruin of a doorway with the remains of the door itself nailed shut and the symbol all but faded into nothingness.  Swallowing hard she hurried back to the warehouse.

It took her about half an hour to find her way to the warehouse.  She quickly opened the door and slipped inside.  Hurrying to the ladder she climbed up, pushing on the trapped door and surprised to find it unlocked.  She threw it open and climbed up the rest of the way. 

She quickly shut the door and turned around to find a furious Vician standing there with his arms folded.  She froze unsure what to do when he practically screamed “Where in the Nine Hells have you been?”